Marc VDS Racing Team
| Team principal(s) |
Marc van der Straten Michael Bartholemy |
|---|---|
| Current series |
MotoGP World Championship Moto2 World Championship |
| Former series |
FIA GT1 World Championship FIA GT Championship Belcar Moto3 World Championship NASCAR Whelen Euro Series European Le Mans Series VLN Blancpain Endurance Series |
| Teams' Championships | Moto2, 2014 |
| Drivers' Championships | Esteve Rabat: Moto2, 2014 |
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Marc VDS Racing Team is a Belgian motorcycle racing team founded by Marc van der Straten, although it is composed of several smaller teams all operating under the Marc VDS banner. The team currently competes in two disciplines of motorsport: motorcycle racing in the MotoGP World Championship and the Moto2 World Championship, and rallying in various rally raid events. It has also formerly competed in many auto racing championships, such as the Blancpain Endurance Series and the European Le Mans Series.
History
Based in Gosselies, Belgium, Marc VDS began competing in the Belcar series as part of the racing program for the Gillet Vertigo, a Belgian sports car, under the Belgian Racing title. By 2005 the Gillet program expanded to include the international FIA GT Championship, although the team was not allowed to compete for the season championship due to the low production of road legal Vertigos. Despite continued development for several years, the Gillet program ended in 2008 and van der Straten rebranded the team as Marc VDS. The team however remained involved in the FIA GT Championship at the behest of Jean Michel Delporte and Bas Leinders by becoming one of two development teams for the Matech Ford GT, shifting the team to the GT1 category.[1] Marc VDS also expanded their program through the purchase of a Volkswagen Touareg Rally raid for the 2009 Dakar Rally.
After their year of development in FIA GT, Marc VDS was one of twelve teams granted entry in the inaugural FIA GT1 World Championship in 2010, where they would retain their Ford GT. The 2010 GT1 program also included an entry in the Le Mans Series' 1000 km of Spa as well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Shortly after entering FIA GT1, Marc VDS also announced their merger with Michael Bartholemy and Didier de Radiguès' entry in the new Moto2 category of Grand Prix motorcycle racing,[2] where riders Scott Redding and Héctor Faubel would compete on Suter bikes. Marc VDS also added a fourth program to 2010 by co-developing a Ford Mustang with Multimatic Motorsports of Canada for use in the FIA GT3 European Championship.
In July 2015, Bas Leinders announced he has parted ways with the team.[3] In October 2015, Marc van der Straten announced that the sportscar racing programme would end at the conclusion of the 2015 season.[4]
References
- ↑ "Marc VDS Racing Team to enter Ford in 2009". planetlemans.com. Planet Le Mans. 16 March 2009. Retrieved 2 September 2010.
- ↑ Matthew Birt (10 December 2009). "Ex-Kawasaki MotoGP boss unveils Moto2 plan". motorcyclenews.com. Motor Cycle News. Retrieved 2 September 2010.
- ↑ Dagys, John (30 July 2015). "Leinders, Marc VDS Part Ways". Sportscar365.com (John Dagys Media, LLC). Retrieved 31 July 2015.
- ↑ Watkins, Gary (6 October 2015). "BMW sportscar team Marc VDS Racing stops car racing programme". Autosport (Haymarket Publications). Retrieved 14 December 2015.
External links
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